Getting away is good for art!
I was fortunate to travel to Florence, Italy, in July with my children and grandchildren. If you travel, you know that a trip like this involves quite a bit of planning. The first decisions are the big picture ones: where to stay, how to get there, and how to make the experience enjoyable for everyone. With the internet, researching options and working out logistics is easier than ever, but it is also important to consider the ages and interests of everyone in the traveling party.
Florence is a beautiful historic city filled with fascinating architecture, museums, churches, and delicious food. The Arno River flows through the heart of the city, crossed by several bridges, including the iconic Ponte Vecchio, with its shops spanning the river.
The Arno became the inspiration for a piece I call it, Firenze, Il Bello Arno. I studied numerous maps of Florence, tracing locations of places we wanted to visit and the routes we would take. Those maps eventually found their way into the inspiration for the piece. The finished work is somewhat abstracted, and I certainly took liberties with the colour, but it captures my impression of the river and the city surrounding it. One of the things that draws me most to Florence is the age of its buildings and churches. Yes, they are weathered and show the marks of centuries, but that is part of their beauty. It is almost a miracle that so many of these structures are still standing. Even more remarkable is the amount of art, created centuries ago, that has been preserved and is still available for us to experience today.
Firenze, Il Bello Arno
For that reason, we chose to stay in an old villa dating back to the 18th century. Of course, we made sure the bathrooms had been updated, and there was air conditioning! The villa was surrounded by olive groves on a hillside above Florence. Looking out through the windows at the countryside, I was reminded that we were definitely no longer in Florida.
Our Villa became the inspiration for another piece, A Room With a View. The old stone walls surrounding the window were solid and imposing, creating a beautiful frame for the landscape beyond. Creating this piece gives me a way to bring the memory home in a tangible form.
A Room With a View